Monday, August 23, 2010

Soham killer Huntley behind in prison after attack

Soham torpedo Ian Huntley was behind in jail currently after an conflict by a associate restrained left him wanting sanatorium treatment.

The 36-year-olds throat was reportedly slashed during yesterdays conflict in Frankland Prison, County Durham, where he is portion dual hold up sentences for murdering schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

The Prison Service has not pronounced what Huntleys stream state is in the jail, but pronounced after the conflict that his condition was not life-threatening.

A orator said: A restrained at HMP Frankland was assaulted by an additional restrained at about 3.25pm on Sunday Mar 21. The restrained was taken to outward sanatorium for diagnosis but has right away returned to prison.

Prison officials have launched an review in to what happened.

It has been reported that Huntleys throat was slashed with a temporary knife, and the kid torpedo was found by jail staff lying in a pool of blood.

Video: Huntley behind in jail He was convicted of murdering Holly and Jessica, who were both 10, in Dec 2003 after they dead from their homes in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in Aug 2002.

The attempted murder of the dual girls sent shockwaves opposite the country.

Huntley, a caretaker at the delegate propagandize in Soham, and his afterwards partner Maxine Carr, a training partner in Holly and Jessicas youth propagandize class, primarily told military they knew 0 of the resources surrounding the girls" disappearance.

But it emerged at their hearing at the Old Bailey that Huntley had met Holly and Jessica as they walked past his home, enticed them inside and killed them prior to stealing their remains.

Huntley was since dual hold up conditions after being convicted of the girls" murders.

Carr was locked up after being convicted of perverting the march of probity and has right away been expelled from prison.

Yesterdays conflict is not the initial time Huntley has been pounded in prison.

An invalid threw hot H2O on him whilst he was on the health caring wing at the high-security Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire in Sep 2005.

He has additionally attempted to dedicate self-murder whilst in jail on 3 occasions.

He was changed to HMP Frankland, a Category A high security mens prison, in 2008. That year, HM Inspectorate of Prisons lifted concerns about assault at the jail.

Colin Moses, from the Prison Officers" Association (POA), pronounced jail reserve was an issue that had to be addressed.

He told the BBC: What we are asking for, right up to Jack Straw and his ministers, is 0 toleration to assault in the prisons.

We have some-more aroused prisons than we"ve ever had before.

We wish to see movement taken to guarantee staff, guarantee inmates and guarantee the public.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Avosentan reduces proteinuria but causes critical side effects

Despite assertive treatments, people with kidney disease mostly experience proteinuria, or extreme loss of protein in the urine, that increases kidney damage. A key cause in the growth of proteinuria is endothelin, that by constricting red red blood vessels and raising red red blood pressure, causes the kidneyfiltering duty to deteriorate. Researchers think that restraint the endothelin peptide could be a earnest new diagnosis plan for patients who rise proteinuria. Endothelin antagonists such as verbal avosentan are already accessible and are prescribed for patients with cardiovascular conditions.

Johannes Mann, MD (Schwabing General Hospital and KfH Kidney Centre, in Munchen, Germany) and his colleagues carefully thought about the goods of avosentan on proteinuria and kidney duty in patients with sort 2 diabetes and kidney disease by a multicenter, multinational, double-blind, tranquil trial. The Avosentan ASCEND investigate enrolled 1392 patients already being treated with colour for kidney disease and randomized them to embrace avosentan twenty-five mg, avosentan 50 mg, or placebo.

While avosentan at possibly sip lowered patients" urinary protein excretion by 40%-50% (compared with less than 10% in patients receiving placebo), people receiving the drug experienced a high occurrence of serious, infrequently life-threatening side effects. These enclosed complications of liquid overkill such as pulmonary edema, as well as congestive heart failure. In addition, there were some-more deaths in the groups receiving avosentan (21 and 17) than in the organisation receiving remedy (12).

Dr. Mann remarkable that the commentary from the ASCEND hearing prominence the risks and intensity benefits of endothelin antagonists in kidney disease patients with proteinuria and will assistance investigators pattern destiny studies to exam the drugs" potential. Specifically, reduce doses of avosentan might beget some-more certain results.

Speedel Pharma Ltd, Switzerland, sponsored the investigate and allocated the stipulate investigate classification Quintiles Ltd for investigate set-up, initiation, management, and analysis. Study co-authors embody Damian Green (Quintiles Ltd, Strasbourg, France); Kenneth Jamerson, MD (University of Michigan); Luis Ruilope, MD (Hospital twelve de Octubre, Madrid, Spain); Susan Kuranoff, Thomas Littke, MD (Speedel Pharma Ltd, Basel, Switzerland); and Giancarlo Viberti, MD, FRCP (KingCollege London School of Medicine, GuyHospital, London, UK) for the ASCEND Study Group.

Susan Kuranoff and Thomas Littke were employees of the sponsor, and all alternative authors have consulting supports from Speedel Pharma Ltd.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Tip-of-the-Tongue Moments Explained LiveScience

Its one of the mostfrustrating feelings: You know the word exists, and you know what it means, butyou usually cant separate it out.

New investigate suggeststhe forgetfulness might have to do with how mostly we make make make make make use of of of of of sure words.

The commentary couldhelp scientists assimilate some-more about how the brain organizes and remembers language.

For discernment in to thephenomenon, researchers tested people who verbalise dual languages, as well as deafpeople who make make make make make use of of of of of American SignLanguage (ASL) to communicate.

"We longed for tolook at either we saw a together in signers do they have a tip-of-the-fingerstate?" pronounced Karen Emmorey, executive of the Laboratory for Language &Cognitive Neuroscience at San Diego State University.

Emmorey and her colleaguesfound that yes, signers did experience tip-of-the-fingers, and about as mostly rounded off once a week as speakers do.

Furthermore, usually asspeakers can mostly stop the initial minute of the word as in, "I know itstarts with a b," signers could infrequently think of piece of the sign.In fact, signers were some-more expected to collect a signs palm shape, place onthe body, and orientation, than they were to recollect the movement.

Emmorey sees this asa together with speakers, where both groups can some-more mostly entrance informationfrom the commencement of the word.

"Theressomething absolved during denunciation prolongation about the beginning," shesaid.

One heading thought forwhat causes these irritating lapses is that when people try to think of aspecific word, a little other, similar-sounding word might come up in the brain and "block"their capability to entrance the scold word. This resource is called phonologicalblocking.

To exam this idea, Emmoreysteam compared bilingual speakers and people who could both verbalise English andsign ASL.

Previous researchhas shown that bilingual people have some-more tip-of-the-tongue moments than thosewho verbalise usually one language. Some experts have referred to that this is becausepeople who verbalise dual languages have twice as most probable difference in their headsto action as phonological blockers.

If that were thecase, the scientists reasoned, this shouldnt start for people who arebilingual in oral English and American Sign Language, given the signs and thewords dont "sound" the same and shouldnt retard each other.

But when theycompared these people to bilinguals who spoke English and Spanish, they foundthat both groups had tip-of-the-tongue/finger states about similarly as often.That suggests that phonological restraint is not to blame.

Instead, Emmoreysaid she suspects this kind of forgetfulnessis due to infrequency of use; basically, the less mostly you make make make make make use of of of of of a word, theharder it is for your brain to entrance it.

This explanationcould comment for since tip-of-the-tongue is some-more usual in all sorts ofbilinguals, since for people who know some-more than one language, all difference areused less frequently. For example, if youre bilingual and you make make make make make use of of of of of eachlanguage about half the time, afterwards you would make make make make make use of of of of of each word in each languageabout half as mostly as someone who uses usually one language.

Further contrast willbe indispensable to endorse this idea, though.

Emmorey presentedher investigate on Feb. nineteen at the annual assembly of the American Association forthe Advancement of Science in San Diego, Calif.

5 Things You Must Never Forget People with Super-Memories Forget Nothing 10 Things You Didnt Know About You

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Big acclaim as Villazon earnings to show in Vienna

March 23, 2010, 4:29 PM EST

VIENNA (AP) -- He came, he mugged, he juggled, he blew a lick to his fans. And, yes, he sang — unequivocally nicely, as well — as an adoring assembly welcomed Rolando Villazon behind to the show stage.

The Mexican-born tenor"s quip purpose Monday night at the Vienna Staatsoper was Nemorino, the lovesick farmer in Donizetti"s overwhelming humerous entertainment "L"elisir d"amore" ("The Elixir of Love").

It"s a purpose that"s befitting to Villazon"s voice and personality. It doesn"t distortion as well high, it doesn"t force him to sing over complicated orchestration. And it plays to his full of health instincts as a clown, even if he overdid the foolery — glancing at his wristwatch to exaggerate how prolonged he was holding onto a sole high note.

That was far from the usually time he pennyless character. There were countless winks and nods to the audience, and a "look at me!" countenance during a specialist arrangement of juggling. And the nonsensical laugh he often displayed seemed less about Nemorino than about Rolando Villazon"s pleasure in being behind on stage.

But he took the singing seriously, stuffing out Donizetti"s symphonic line with seemly phrasing and tasteful courtesy to dynamics.

To contend Villazon done it by the dusk but a outspoken join might receptive to advice similar to gloomy praise, but since what he has been by in new years he was probably as relieved as his majority fans.

Nevertheless, his voice did not receptive to advice utterly similar to the Villazon of a couple of years ago. It has taken on a darker hue; the one-time abdominal fad and radiate of his tinge appear dampened and subdued. And though his voice sounded full of health and secure for the majority part, there were times toward the finish of the dusk when he ominously resumed his old robe of pulling up from subsequent to reach the tip notes, rather than attack them passed center.

The Staatsoper assembly possibly didn"t notice or didn"t care. His Act 2 aria, "Una furtiva lagrima," was awarded an startling five-minute acclaim as the throng cried in vain for an encore. The last screen calls — filmed by radio crews — lasted some-more than twenty mins as he and his expel friends were regularly called back. But it was unequivocally usually Villazon they wanted.

It should be remarkable for the jot down that soprano Ekaterina Siurina starred conflicting him as Adina, singing with lively and energy if not most appeal or melting beauty. Baritone Tae Joong Yang proposed off prosaic as the preening Sgt. Belcore, whilst drum Ambrogio Maestri sang and acted vividly as the elixir-peddling Doctor Dulcamara. Daniele Callegari conducted the band with love for the rhythmical score.

Villazon"s singular performance, that sole out roughly as shortly as it was announced, outlines the finish of a second prolonged interregnum in the career of a thespian whose problems have come to appear mystic of most that is wrong with the high-pressure universe of show behaving today.

Villazon, who incited 38 last month, detonate on the theatre about 10 years ago with a full-bodied verse effort voice that reminded majority listeners of a immature Placido Domingo. His impassioned, at times roughly frenzied, behaving impression combined to his repute as an sparkling performer.

He partnered with soprano Anna Netrebko in a now-classic prolongation of Verdi"s "La Traviata" in Salzburg, Austria, and sang with her in this same Otto Schenk prolongation of "L"elisir" in Vienna, prisoner on DVD in 2005. They set off sparks at your convenience they appeared together, together with a noted array of performances of Verdi"s "Rigoletto" at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005-06.

But as he took on heavier roles, flaws in his technique and stipulations in the energy and range of his voice took their fee with harmful speed. In 2007 he voiced he was receiving multiform months off to rest. When he returned, he attempted out a little new roles, similar to the pretension impression in Verdi"s "Don Carlos," that he could not lift off successfully. In Jan 2009, he suffered a meltdown on the Met theatre when — again singing with Netrebko — he lost carry out of his voice during a consequential thoroughfare in Donizetti"s "Lucia di Lammermoor."

Finally he was diagnosed as carrying a protuberance on his outspoken cords and underwent surgery. During his prolonged recuperation, he lifted highbrow eyebrows by apropos a decider on a British being TV show called "Popstar to Operastar." Some observers wrote him off as a critical artist.

Now with his opening in "L"elisir" he might be behind on lane to resume his career, if he wants to and if he chooses his repertory carefully.

Next he"s on to Berlin for 3 performances as Lenski in Tchaikovsky"s "Eugene Onegin." The usually alternative operatic purpose on his monthly calendar at benefaction is a informed one, Alfredo in "La Traviata," in Zurich. He"ll additionally be giving a array of concerts and recitals. And he"s slated to direct, but not sing in, a prolongation of Massenet"s "Werther" subsequent deteriorate in Lyon, France.

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Sunday, August 8, 2010

Six Flags CFO takes mount in failure showdown

Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware Mon Mar 8, 2010 4:43pm EST Stocks & &

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - Six Flags Inc (SIXFQ.OB) put its chief financial officer on the stand to defend its reorganization plan against attacks by some bondholders, with ownership of the theme park operator at stake.

Jeffrey Speed spent most of Monday describing the events leading to the company"s bankruptcy and the operating cash flow needs, as the company sought to make the case that their plan was the most feasible.

"We"ve been trying to manage a cash or liquidity crisis every year I"ve been at the company," said Speed, who joined Six Flags from Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) in 2006.

Under cross examination in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Speed was pressed why he did not try to engage potential investors that had shown an interest in the company while it was in bankruptcy.

"We did not say we"re putting the company up for sale," said Speed of attempts to raise funding for a potential plan of reorganization.

Those interested in the company included private equity group MidOcean Partners, real estate magnate Sam Zell, Providence Equity Partners, Apollo Management APOLO.UL and Far East International Holdings of Hong Kong, according to testimony.

He also said that none of the interested parties was willing to value the company at a level above what had been proposed in the company"s plan of reorganization.

The company"s reorganization proposal was crafted by holders of senior bonds who will end up controlling the company under the plan.

Junior bondholders, led by hedge fund Stark Investments, have said that the operator of just under 20 regional parks can borrow more and pay all creditors what they are owed. Their plan would leave them in control of the company.

The junior bondholders, known as the SFI Noteholders, also argued on Monday that the company"s plan cannot be confirmed because they voted to reject it and that it was not negotiated in good faith.

The SFI Noteholders said last month they were in talks with a new management team if they take over the company. By contrast, Speed stands to reap a $750,000 bonus if Six Flags comes out of bankruptcy under the company"s plan.

The trial is scheduled to last two weeks, with potentially dozens of witnesses taking the stand and thousands of documents entered as exhibits with the aim of convincing Judge Christopher Sontchi of the company"s true value and each plan"s viability.

The hearings will lack starpower, as Six Flags" chairman and Washington Redskins" owner Dan Snyder will not testify, according to the company"s attorney.

Senior bondholders, known as SFO Noteholders and led by distressed investor Avenue Capital Group, drafted the company"s plan, which will fund the exit from bankruptcy with some $830 million in debt. The SFO Noteholders would also invest $450 million in equity.

SFI Noteholders proposed paying everyone senior of their own debt in full and taking control of the company. SFI Noteholders only secured financing for their plan on Friday, which includes $1.17 billion of debt and $582 million of equity.

While the trial plays out in public, behind-the-scenes talks are likely to continue, although the burden is on the SFI Noteholders to craft an offer to win over Avenue Capital.

Six Flags might seem to be an unlikely target of such an expensive tussle. The company has largely been unprofitable for more than a decade.

However, some of the debt that sunk the company was used to build bigger and better attractions and roller coasters, which now will protect the company from potential competition.

In addition, a sluggish economic recovery has made the regional theme parks an affordable "stay-cation" alternative to long-distance holidays for cash-strapped American families.

The case is In re: Premier International Holdings Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 09-12019.

(Reporting by Tom Hals; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Prudential and AIG CEOs hold locale gymnasium meetings

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG Thu Mar 4, 2010 8:21am EST Related News U.S. bet AIG units would price higher -- and wonThu, Mar 4 2010 Stocks & &

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Any job losses from Prudential Plc"s (PRU.L) planned $35.5 billion acquisition of American International Group"s (AIG.N) Asian insurance arm will be mainly in back-office operations and not among sales forces, the companies" CEOs told staff in Asia, sources said.

Deals

Prudential CEO Tidjane Thiam and his AIG counterpart Robert Benmosche are leading a series of "town hall" meetings across Asia that aim to allay concerns among staff of both companies.

The CEOs are reiterating they plan to keep the businesses and brands separate, with overlap mainly in back- and middle-office operations, according to people who attended the meetings.

The chief executives met employees in Malaysia on Thursday morning, and arrived together, though in separate cars, later in Singapore to meet staff there. They are expected to visit Thailand on Friday.

Neither CEO would comment to reporters outside Singapore"s Suntec convention center.

In what is the insurance industry"s biggest acquisition, Prudential is buying American International Assurance in a big bet on soaring demand in Asia for personal financial services. AIA is regarded as AIG"s crown jewel because of its size, cash generation and presence in fast-growth Asia.

AIA serves more than 20 million customers in Asia. Prudential has more than 11 million life insurance customers in the region.

The deal, which AIG chose over a planned AIA initial public offering in Hong Kong, would help the bailed-out U.S. group repay a big chunk of its taxpayer debt.

The meetings with employees kicked off in Hong Kong on Wednesday, where Thiam and Benmosche addressed staff of the two companies side-by-side, according to people who were present.

AIA workers dialed in or assembled on the 33rd floor at the firm"s Central headquarters where the meeting was held, while Prudential held its gathering at an exhibition center in Kowloon Bay, big enough to fit the company"s 700 people.

Benmosche said that with markets softening ahead of the mooted IPO, a deal with Prudential offered more certainty, according to one person who attended. Benmosche also explained the importance of paying back the U.S. government, that person said. AIG is trying to pay back a $182.3 billion taxpayer-funded rescue package launched during the financial crisis.

Should Prudential succeed in taking over AIA, the companies have promised to keep the AIA brand name -- a message that was conveyed at the AIA "town hall".

The meetings also aimed to put employees at ease, saying it was business as usual for now, with no planned layoffs for front-end, customer-facing staff.

In Malaysia, where AIA has more than 1,000 staff and a network of 10,000 agents, Thiam and Benmosche briefed staff for an hour at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in central Kuala Lumpur.

Thiam answered questions, many of which centered on fears of job losses, said a person who attended that meeting, but who declined to be named.

In Singapore, where both AIA and Prudential have about 15 percent market share, the two CEOs will address employees at two meetings, Prudential said in an emailed statement, adding around 800 staff were expected at the hour-long Prudential session.

"Meeting Prudential and AIA employees in Asia is a top priority for me," Thiam said in the statement.

"This is a terrific growth story for both companies."

(Reporting by Michael Flaherty in HONG KONG, Julie Goh in KUALA LUMPUR and Saeed Azhar in SINGAPORE; Additional reporting by Parvathy Ullatil in HONG KONG)

(Writing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

Deals

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Why Im not so Fonda this bare-faced deceiver

Jane Fonda

Smoothly does it: Jane Fonda advertises anti-ageing face cream but has actually gone under the knife to stop her skin sagging

Why are women ever ashamed of having cosmetic surgery? I know dozens who"ve had facelifts and other work but they"ve sworn me to secrecy, even though they know I"ve had a facelift myself and I"m quite open about it.

Jane Fonda, now 72, was one of those people who disapproved of cosmetic surgery, even though some years ago she not only had breast implants (and then had them removed) but also had an operation to remove excess fat under her eyes.

She even signed a six figure contract to advertise L"Oreal anti-ageing cream for mature women.

There she was, just four years ago, banging on about how she was ready to grow old gracefully.

"I"m going to try to organise other women in my profession and my friends to say "No!" to the duck lips and getting rid of the wrinkles," she told Michael Parkinson. "Somebody has got to give a face to getting old."

Well that somebody certainly wasn"t her, as she has just revealed that recently she underwent surgery to banish the wrinkles on her chin, neck and the bags under her eyes. In other words she"s being sliced up, pulled tight and perked up like the best of us.

"I just had some work done on my chin and neck and had the bags taken away from under my eyes, so I decided it would be a good idea to get a new haircut so people will think it"s my new hair," she told fans on her blog.

"I"m still a little swollen but not much and what pleases me is that I won"t looked pulled or weird or tired all the time. And my crows feet are still alive and well."

Good for her for having it done. But it"s the hypocrisy that"s so irritating. How many women spent their hard-earned money on the anti-ageing cream she endorsed, imagining that this expensive product might give them a face as unwrinkled as Jane"s when their skin began to sag?

More...Beauty confidential: How can I match the shade of my favourite old foundation? Can a haircut make YOU look younger?

Not only that, but the more celebrities who have nips and tucks who don"t confess what they"ve had done, the more it makes other older women feel upset that their bingo-wings, faces like contour maps and turkey necks, are somehow their own fault.

Did they not keep out of the sun enough when they were young? Did they not drink enough water? Did they fail to moisturise enough? When the truth is, really, that all they"ve done wrong is fail to have enough money - or guts - to undergo cosmetic surgery.

ARLENE PHILLIPSLulu Olivia Newton-John

Youthful looks: From left, Arlene Phillips says she uses a "Botox alternative you can apply yourself, Lulu won"t be drwan on whether she"s had surgery and Olivia Newton-John credits her mother for her baby face

I"ve never been shy about admitting to a face-lift ten years ago. Infact I don"t even like the word "admitting" because it sounds as ifI"ve committed a crime.

I had mine done at a time when I was fairly well-off, verydepressed, and when I hated seeing myself look so miserable in themirror.

The result has been fabulous. I still look reasonably young, my skinis naturally good - due, I have to say, to a lucky dip in the geneticpool and a non-stop treatment of soap and water, and not a moisturiserin sight.

The whole procedure cheered me up no end. And although I"m quiteopen about it, very few people ask if I"ve had a facelift because I wasone of the lucky ones who had an excellent surgeon.

When I last went to Florida and saw the appallingly stretched masksand rictus smiles of several old ladies, I can see why a lot of peopleview them with horror.

But good face-lifts are like undiscovered murders. You only notice the botched ones.

Oneof the reasons I"m open is, simply, because I favour honesty, and it"sgood to be able to spread a little sunshine when I give people the nameof my surgeon.

Virginia Ironside

Not ashamed: Virginia Ironside is happy to admit she"s had a face lift

The other reason is that I couldn"t bear toimagine the whispering campaign among my friends if I pretended Ihadn"t had anything done.

What on earth is wrong withhaving cosmetic surgery? It shows you care about your looks, whichmeans you care about other people.

You"d never have cosmeticsurgery if you were on a desert island, even if some whizz-kid doctorsuddenly appeared on a raft and offered his services for free.

Somelucky people just do look young. They"re genetically programmed thatway. I"m sure that Daphne Self, the glamorous older woman model, hasn"thad a face-lift. I"m also certain that Antonia Fraser is face-liftfree, and Joan Bakewell and Fay Weldon. And Olivia Newton-John, despiteher years, has always had a young-looking face.

"Genetically,I"m like my mum and she looked great right up until her death in 1989,"she has been quoted as saying. And in fact her age-defying looks helpedher secure the role of a 17-year-old in Grease in 1978 when she was 30.

I"m suspicious of Joan Collins, I have to say, but oddly, I do believe Arlene Phillips hasn"t had surgery - she still looks staggering at 66 - simply because the reasons she gives for her looks are so weird that you couldn"t make them up.

"I don"t have Botox, I hate needles, but I use a Botox alternative you can apply yourself."

Really? "And I also have this facial once a week with a rotating instrument that pulls, stretches and tightens."

Crikey, what kind of rotating instrument might that be? It must cost a few bob. And as for the amazing Lulu, at 61 - well, by refusing to say whether she"s had surgery or not, I think most of us know what conclusion we"d draw.

She says: "I"m not against cosmetic surgery; I am against talking about it - I mean, I have done the Botox thing - been there, done that, got the T-shirt. I am not into doing that any more. But who am I to say to anyone else: "Don"t do this, don"t do that." Live and let live, I say. Being judgmental is very ageing."

But, of course, it would be hard for her to fess up, if indeed she has had surgery, when she has her own Time Bomb range of anti-ageing skin products to sell. Not to mention a new book out called Lulu"s Secrets To Looking Good.

Can we expect another book on the magical effects of cosmetic surgery? Somehow, I don"t think I"ll hold my breath.

Virginia appears in The Virginia Monologues, Why It"s Great To Be Sixty, in April. Details on www.virginiaironside.org